AL AIN // Mahdi Ali says Wednesday’s friendly victory against Bahrain has provided the UAE national team with a timely lift ahead of next week’s hugely important 2018 World Cup qualifier with Iraq.
The UAE triumphed 2-0 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, thanks to goals from Ismail Matar and Walid Abbas, in what was their first match since last month’s damaging qualifying defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Mahdi Ali’s side now face Iraq in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, where they will attempt to get their quest to reach Russia 2018 back on track. The UAE are fourth in Group B after four matches, two points and two places off an automatic qualification spot. The Iraq encounter, taking place at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, is therefore viewed as a must-win.
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The warm-up victory against Bahrain helped raise spirits in the camp, though, as well as giving opportunities to several players to test their fitness or impress the manager.
“This game was very important for us, especially for the players who are not playing regularly with their teams,” said Mahdi Ali, who gave rare starts to Matar and Al Wahda teammate Hamdan Al Kamali. “It was a chance for them to play 90 minutes and so we are happy about this friendly match.
“Although we had some players who are ready to play, like Ali Mabkhout and Ismail Ahmed, we didn’t want to take the risk of putting them into the game because we have a very close match and very important match coming against Iraq.
“We know that today’s game was a little bit tough; the players were taking care not to get injured. But they played well and were happy that they won the game. I hope this will give them a boost and motivation for the game against Iraq.”
The performances of Matar and Abbas would have been particularly pleasing. The duo combined for both the UAE’s goals, with veteran Matar’s presence in the squad adding much-need experience and Abbas finally returning to full fitness. The Al Ahli left-back missed last month’s qualifiers against Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
“For us, at this moment, all 24 players are important,” Mahdi Ali said. “Ismail Matar and Walid Abbas are experienced players and today they did well. Walid assisted the first goal and scored the second, and for the second, Ismail Matar made a very nice feint and created the chance for Walid to score. They are experienced players and they are important for us for the next game.”
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